Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination Essay Example for Free

Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination Essay The debate is led by anti-vaccinators who oppose vaccinations on ethical, political, religious and medical safety grounds. On the other hand, pro-vaccinators argue that the health benefits of vaccines outweigh the very few adverse effects that they have, and that vaccines have been largely advantageous to public health. Main points of contention: Pro-vaccinators (usually health care specialists, microbiologists, governments, pharmaceutical companies) Vaccinations are an effective and cost-saving tool for disease prevention. Positive externality attached to the use of vaccinations – overall public health is positively affected Side-effects are infrequent and the most common ones are minor. Anti-vaccinators (some conservative Islamic and Christian groups, usually libertarians and victims of public panic) Vaccines are ineffective and are used to generate profits for Big Pharma. Mandatory vaccinations interfere with individual and religious freedoms. Vaccines have severe side-effects and can trigger brain disorders. Points in favor of vaccines The effectiveness of vaccines has been globally verified.  Scientific research confirms the efficiency of all vaccines administered to the public, including the vaccines for measles1, influenza2 and pneumococcal disease3, 4. Protection against seasonal flu, chicken pox, cervical cancer, whooping cough, among other diseases5 Vaccines led to the eradication of small pox6. Global reduction of polio (number of cases has shrunk by over 99% since 1988)7, measles (deaths have reduced by 78%)8, tetanus (92% reduction in global cases since 1980s)9 Most side effects caused by vaccines are minor, such as low-grade fever10. In the US, vaccines are introduced to the public after years of thorough testing and are monitored closely after10. Points against vaccines and rebuttals Vaccines are a ploy by Big Pharma to generate profits by marketing needless vaccines. All companies are motivated by profits, including McDonalds and Apple Inc. Pharmaceutical companies are encouraged by public authorities  toward the production of vaccines due to the resultant overall public health savings, despite the following: Medicines for chronic diseases are more profitable. Production of vaccines is a high-risk venture since it involves huge capital investment for research. Moreover, vaccine production, safety and marketing activities are tightly controlled by authorities11. Foreign governments repeatedly push for lower costs. Although the vaccine industry has grown multifold over the past years and is generally profitable, pharmaceutical companies should not be blamed for misdirection when the health advantages of vaccines have been verified by academia and are widely acknowledged. Exemptions on religious and philosophical basis should be permitted. The religious and philosophical views of a group can be overlooked to protect the health of an entire population, since unvaccinated people create a level of risk for themselves and for the rest of the population12. The Netherlands is at risk of a measles outbreak in the orthodox Protestant group, and the consequent transmission of measles to the general population, as shown by a recent study13. Mandatory vaccines infringe upon individual freedoms. Vaccines directly affect the well-being of the people around, and are thus, not as private a decision as one would assume. Positive externalities are usually ignored by people while making decisions. Some people claim that taxes are unconstitutional. But taxes, like vaccines, are a mutual responsibility and work for the common good. Vaccinations lead to life-threatening side effects. The most common side effects of vaccinations are minor, like low-grade fever or soreness near the injection site10. Scientific research has disproved the popular claims that vaccines cause SIDS14 or brain disorders like autism15, 16. The chances of complications from diseases are much higher than the chances of complications from vaccines. Thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines, and the MMR vaccine cause autism. Research shows no cause-and-effect relationship between autism and thimerosal17, or autism and  the usage of MMR vaccine15, 16. The usage of thimerosal has only minor side-effects, like swelling near the injection site18, and the most common side effect due to the administration of the MMR vaccine is low-grade fever10. Thimerosal was taken out of vaccines for children in 2001 only as a preemptive measure. Even then, autism rates have only grown18. Nearly all scientists whose researches concluded a positive correlation between vaccines and autism retracted their researches. Vaccines must be repeated and do not provide long-lasting protection. One size neither fits all humans nor all diseases. MMR vaccination does, in most cases, provide life-long protection. Other viruses mutate fast and immunizations must be renewed to fight the virus. Repetitive vaccinations are a small cost to pay in the face of deadly diseases. Even vaccinated children might contract diseases. Vaccinations are 90-99% effective in preventing diseases among children19. These diseases generally manifest with milder symptoms and less severe complications. Some children do not respond to vaccines and some are not immunized due to compromised immune systems or allergies. Herd immunity must be achieved in order to protect the unimmunized population. Whooping cough epidemic despite the availability of vaccinations Effectiveness of vaccine relies on herd immunity Vaccination rates have been dropping due to anti-vaccination movements and the subsequent public panic. Exemptions against vaccines have doubled since 199720.  States which make exemptions easily available to parents have more cases21. Most cases of whooping cough are among infants too young to be vaccinated. Highly-publicized cases of brain damage alleged to have been caused by the whooping cough vaccine created public panic in Great Britain which caused a drop in immunization rates and thus, epidemics of the disease22, 23. Most complications reported were not associated with the vaccination22. Better hygiene and sanitation in the recent years is the reason for the falling rates of diseases. Better hygiene does prevent the spread of diseases. However, disease-causing germs stick around, sometimes in our bodies. They can also be spread by means such as sexual contact or sneezing, and vaccinations teach our bodies how to fight diseases once the germs attack our bodies. Measles, like other diseases, saw a permanent drop in 1962, after its vaccine was licensed24. Evidently, vaccines have a direct impact on disease control. The cases of haemophilus influenzae in children started declining a few years ago, since the introduction of the vaccine for children, while the levels of sanitation and hygiene have been practically unchanged since 199023. The number of global cases for vaccine-preventable diseases has been dwindling as the vaccinated population has been growing. India is polio-free now due to country-wide vaccination efforts (in modern times) to eradicate the disease25. Some doctors and scientists stand against vaccination. A vast majority of doctors, including medical experts at CDC, WHO as well as non-governmental organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, support the administration of vaccines. It is important to consider the religious and philosophical views of these doctors. Sometimes, financial gains might be involved26. Combination vaccinations overburden the immune systems of babies. Children, in fact, receive fewer antigens today than they did in the past. There is no evidence to support this hypothesis.  Combination vaccinations simply reduce the number of vaccines administered to babies.

Environmental Concerns and Public Policy Essay Example for Free

Environmental Concerns and Public Policy Essay Your 8 to 10 page final paper is to be a comprehensive research study on one of the following Public Policy topics: Social Security Health Care Welfare Primary and Secondary Public Education Environmental Concerns You will identify relevant material consistent with the focus of the topic using scholarly journals and professional websites with authored material (not popular Internet sites). Your analysis of the selected topic must include the following: The scope and nature of the public policy problem The evolution of public policy Evaluation of policy, the actors involved The intergovernmental structure and political concerns The approaches to policy setting The suggested policy direction that is supported by research In addition to the textbook, you must use a minimum of six resources from the Ashford Online Library Database, academic websites or professional journals and organizations in the field of Sociology. You are encouraged to analyze your findings and avoid over-use of direct quotations. Writing the Final Paper The Research Paper: Must be eight double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Must include a cover page that includes: Students name Course name and number Title of paper Instructors name Date submitted Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. Must incl To get this material copy and paste link to browser https://bitly.com/1rubRAC Going to college is an experience that will help you shape your personality and build a better future for yourself. It is important that you think about your decision carefully, compare different schools and programs and find a way to finance your education. Read this article to learn more about college. Sociology General Sociology Final Paper Your 8 to 10 page final paper is to be a comprehensive research study on one of the following Public Policy topics: Social Security Health Care Welfare Primary and Secondary Public Education Environmental Concerns You will identify relevant material consistent with the focus of the topic using scholarly journals and professional websites with authored material (not popular Internet sites). Your analysis of the selected topic must include the following: The scope and nature of the public policy problem The evolution of public policy Evaluation of policy, the actors involved The intergovernmental structure and political concerns The approaches to policy setting The suggested policy direction that is supported by research In addition to the textbook, you must use a minimum of six resources from the Ashford Online Library Database, academic websites or professional journals and organizations in the field of Sociology. You are encouraged to analyze your findings and avoid over-use of direct quotations. Writing the Final Paper The Research Paper: Must be eight double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Must include a cover page that includes: Students name Course name and number Title of paper Instructors name Date submitted Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph. Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. Must include six sources in addition to your text. Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. Carefully review the Grading Rubric for th

Concept Of An Ideal Life

Concept Of An Ideal Life Throughout the 19th century, the problem of individual existence in the world was an issue prevalent to people in the Western World. The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche stated that the conditions of alienation and absurdity were the heart of the problem. Throughout the essay, I will discuss Nietzsches analysis about human suffering and his solutions to it, and will use his philosophy to create a harmonious and meaningful life for myself. According to Nietzsche, humans suffer because of our weak tendency to conform to the societal ideals; he explained that in order for us to avoid such suffering, we must choose to live life according to our passions and desires. In discussing our nature to go along with the moral conducts as accepted by the society, Nietzsche compares humans to cows. Much like cows, we tend to just follow the accepted values, and essentially, become one in the herd. As a result, humans cause suffering to themselves, because theyre too weak to challenge the seemingly correct socially constructed world. People believe that they have an inherent meaning in living in the world, but in truth, life is based on nothingness, that everything is by chance. The only way to end misery in our lives is if we become brave enough to takes risks and recognize what truly makes our lives meaningful. Nietzsche describes the process of becoming, a representation of how we want to portray ourselves to others, as a foundati on for living a valuable life. We decide whats meaningful and create the value in our human life. Moreover, Nietzsche illustrates a test to determine if our life has been worth living and describes how we should style our life to avoid any conflicts. To see if weve created a meaningful life, Nietzsche suggests the test of eternal return. The ultimate test is that if we were to go back and relive our lives, we would want each and every small occurrence to happen again, whether its a depressing or embarrassing moment, because in the end, we would live a perfect life. The momentary embarrassment or heartache wouldnt even matter because succeeding in living a valuable life would dominate any small glitches within our early life. If we could say yes to this test, then weve succeeded in living a meaningful life. In order to create such perfect lives, Nietzsche discusses the need to style our life. We must no longer believe in an innate self, but aesthetically approach our lives, in organizing our experiences into the self. We must turn to ourselves in determining our individual existen ce rather than turning to the world; its like creating a work of art through painting various colors onto a wall. However, all our actions and every element must coherently be harmonious with one another and the parts should come together as a magnificent whole. When we mold our lives the way we want it to be, we finish the artwork of essentially creating and styling ourselves. In applying Nietzsches idea of becoming, Ive analyzed my desires and have come to recognize four essential elements: God, wisdom, family, and health. Throughout my daily life, I constantly seek God to find comfort in my life. Its through Him that I learn to love others, and therefore, Im able to keep relationships with friends, family, and people in general. He teaches me to be compassionate toward others by showing me the greatest example of true love from God Himself. Without Gods love, I wouldnt be able to connect with any of my family or friends because I wouldnt be able to truly love them. Its because He show me how to love that Im able to reach out to others. Moreover, He provides me with any necessities, such as food and shelter, in order to get through my daily life. He cares about what I eat and what I do because its through Him that I am healthy. God also teaches me how to live life and gives me wisdom through lifes lessons from the things that I experience each day. Whethe r the experiences are good or bad, I understand that the instances that occur are messages from God to learn and apply them in my life. As I slowly begin to experience new things and adventure out into the world more, Im able to become more intellectual and wise in learning how to survive the real world. My second element, companionship, which is interacting and connecting with other people, is a crucial component that prevents a feeling of alienation. Companionship is important because having a small group if intimate people with whom I could discuss any conflicts or problems would allow me to relax and be in a good psychological health. In addition, it is through my family members who care about me that Im able to learn about important life skills to equip myself from faltering in the outside world. Through my close bond with my family and friends, Im able to rely on them when Im sick or hurt to help me cope with the pains. Often times, my mom makes me chicken noodle soup when I get a cold and checks up on me every few hours to see if my fever goes up or down. In the future, I hope to have a family of my own, consisting of a loving husband and four children, two boys and two girls. I would like to name them Kwon, Jinwoon, Hyo-Joo, and Min-Ah. Living with my family, I would like to live in a large, modern two story gated house in Beverly Hills. The house should have a wide front and backyard with trees surrounding the area, giving the house much shade. In addition, there should be a large pool, a jacuzzi, and a tennis court in the backyard, as I would like to teach my children how to swim and play tennis from a young age. While interacting with them, I would also become fit and stay healthy. I would also like to go running with my husband in the quiet neighborhood to sustain our health, while spending time with each other, talking as we run. Aside from having companionship, my intellectual life is also important, as I hope to gain more wisdom and knowledge regarding the human body, the Bible, God, and ways to survive in a competitive world. Specifically, as a female, I am not seen as highly as men, and therefore, if I want to achieve success, I must be willing to spend my time and learn more about the world I live in to be aware of the thing I will face. In order to become wiser about how to live life, I need to read the Bible and learn about what God says about the world. After understanding His motives and plans for the world, I then must take this topic and discuss it with my peers to get a diverse understanding of how they view the world we live in. In addition to gaining a basic knowledge to survival as well as knowing more about God, I would like to become more intellectual about the human body, as its something that interests me as well as a subject I need to study to ensure that I maintain a healthy body. In coll ege, I would like to pursue the biological field to be more conscious of my body. Without wisdom, I wouldnt be able to survive in this society, where deception is so prevalent and wouldnt make the best decisions. The last element that is important in order to live a valuable life is having good health. Whether its the food I eat or the words of encouragement that I get, I need constant supplement to my body for it to sustain the things I face in everyday life. In thinking about health, hygiene is crucial not only to my health but also in my relationship with others. People will only approach me if Im clean and healthy, not if Im dirty and sick. Moreover, in order to stay healthy, I need to make conscious choices of what I eat. I need to be astute in knowing what vegetables are healthy for certain parts of my body, and must be aware of eating a balanced diet. Yet, in the root of all that I do to maintain a good health, its through God that I am able to because He provides for all my needs and necessities. Having a good health is a blessing from God, because not everyone sustains a healthy lifestyle. Nevertheless, as Im able to find comfort in God and relax, Im able to live a stress-free life b y leaving everything up to Him, and therefore, I dont place any more burden on my body. While these four elements themselves are glorious, a harmonious, magnificent figure arises when all the elements are put together. Ten years from now, I imagine myself driving to the UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital as a medical doctor. The moment I get out of my car, I will walk toward my office wearing 1 inch heels, a little make-up, a skirt, dress shirt, and a white coat over my clothes, with my badge hanging from the front pocket. When I get in my office, I need God to indirectly help me in handling the patients, and its through Him that Im able to love my patients and be willing to care for them. When I care for my patients, I need to be hospitable, open minded, and willing to treat them regardless of ethnicity, religion, or gender. Yet, in order to provide care, I need to be wise and intellectual about the human body, knowing every detail about the body parts functions and methods of treatment. My whole motive in becoming a physician is to allow my patients to stay healthy and preve nt illnesses from overshadowing their lives, so I myself must be healthy. Aside from my career, Id also like to be a wonderful mother and wife. I picture coming home to my four children, in my nice modern styled house with leather furniture and wood floor and lying down on the couch while seeing my children playing together. I look over to the side of the wall that contains large family photos as well as bible verses that inspire me. In a moment of silence, I realize how amazing this life is, that every moment of it was worth living, and that I would relive the moments any day. In outlining a life for myself, Ive come to realize the importance of living life according to my passions. Rather than merely conforming to how society says I should live and following the herd, I need to find whats meaningful in my life and pursue what I value. Its only after following my dreams when I can give value to my life. I wont be happy in the end just living life by how society shapes me to simply be accepted; it doesnt matter how others view my life. The only way to achieve happiness and avoid suffering is if I stand up for my own beliefs and desires, challenging what society imposes on me. Only then will I be able to avoid questioning the purpose of my life as well as feeling distant from myself and others. I will then become the person I want to be and will live with no regret and with no unaccomplished desires.

Miss Maudie & Aunt Alex Essay -- English Literature Essays

Miss Maudie & Aunt Alex The Maycomb ladies provide an excellent example of racial prejudice, and a failure to see what it is like in someone else’s skin. They believe they are doing well by making money for missions, failing to see the hardship on their own doorsteps. Aunt Alexandra is very important to the novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ as she is a representative of these viewpoints, disapproving of Calpurnia and disassociating herself from the black community entirely. Miss Maudie however is the counterpoint to Aunt Alexandra. Maudie offers Scout a female role model, whereas Aunt Alexandra tries to make Scout more ladylike, to fit in with her position in life. Aunt Alexandra plays the greatest role in reinforcing class distinctions within the Finch family. As she believes that because the Finch family comes from a long line of landowners, who have been in the county for generations, they deserve greater respect than other people do and therefore must behave according to their status. However her prejudice alienates her from the tolerant Finches, but she fits in well with the rest of Maycomb. Aunt Alexandra has strict and traditional ideas of how society works and the role for a Southern woman within it, which she tries to enforce upon Scout at the beginning to this novel. ‘When I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants.’ Scout immediately takes a dislike to Aunt Alexandra when she criticises her about her overalls. Aunt Alexandra fits in well with the neighbours in Maycomb, but not with the children, as she demands different standards of behaviour from what they are used to. Aunt Alexandra does create an impact during her stay when trying to influence the children during their crucial years of growing up. Atticus is worried that he is not doing his best for his children and is torn between being courteous to his sister and raising Jem and Scout as he sees fit. ‘Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people,’ ‘She asked me to tell you†¦.’ Atticus doesn’t really want to do this but realises it’s important to his sister, Jem and Scout can sense this as he keeps saying ‘She asked me to tell you†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Aunt Alexandra plays a major role in Jem and Scout’s understanding of Atticus’s teachings on racial discrimination and prejudice. S... ... in the last few chapters when Jem and Scout are attacked. Aunt Alexandra redeems herself and realises the importance of the children’s well being and not their status, she becomes a changed women in both the reader’s and Scout’s eyes. ‘Are you all right, darling?’ she asked over and over as she worked me free. The reader also sees a definite change to Auntie when she hands Scout her overalls, ‘the garments she most despised.’ She blames herself for the attack and shows care and tenderness in the final crisis. Both Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra are important role models to Scout and Jem at the end of this novel. Especially Aunt Alexandra as she shows the children that there is hope in Maycomb for people to alter their ways and views like she’s started to achieve in the last few chapters to this book. Jem and Scout don’t have a mother figure in their lives but Miss Maudie acts as a feminine role model, helping Atticus to guide them towards the right understanding of life. From this analysis of the two characters Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra, it is very clear that they both care very much for the welfare of the children although they go about showing it in very different ways.

Antigone, Empress of Byzantium, and My Aunt :: Antigone Essays

Antigone, Empress of Byzantium, and My Aunt I have very few heroes, but if I could pick three people who are heroic to me, I would have to choose Antigone from the tragic play Antigone by Sophocles, Theodora, Empress of Byzantium, and my own personal hero, my great aunt Alice. All of these women have had a profound effect on the world around them, and worked hard to shape the world as they saw fit, to protect their loved ones and those to whom they were and are loyal. My personal hero especially has had a profound effect on my upbringing and me. While I have few heroes, I will pick some people from the past, present, and literature to represent what I believe a hero should be. The first hero is Antigone from the well-known Greek tragedy Antigone, written by Sophocles of an older Greek myth. Antigone was not only a hero, but also a martyr. She died for her cause; she died to save the honor and soul of her brother Polynices, even though he was a traitor. She defied the order of the main antagonist Creon, or Kreon, whose edict was that no one should bury Polynices body, or even mourn his passing. (Antigone) On the other hand, her other brother who had seized the thrown after Oedipus's passing, was buried with honor and as a hero. Antigone would not stand for this, as both her mother and father were dead, and thusly she would never have any other brothers ever again. She did not want either of her brothers bodies to be, "left as a corpse eaten by birds and dogs and torn to pieces, shameful for everyone to see," because this would bring more shame to her family then had already been brought by her father, who had killed his own father unknowingly and married hi s own mother. This is one reason that Antigone is dangerous and heroic, she remembers the past, unlike Creon, who unwittingly begins to repeat the mistakes of Oedipus in his reign, and Antigone uses this information as well as any sword master as a weapon against Creon. She knows that she will be put to death, however she faces up to that and defends her brother anyway, and is unafraid of the consequences. She even makes Creons orders seem shameful, putting them up in a classic rivalry between divine and human law, making it clear that the will of her gods is more important then life or death.

Wuthering Heights :: Essays Papers

Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights is the only book Emily Bronte ever wrote. It is a very powerful story about love and hate and sorrow and death. It spans thirty years and is all narrated by, first Mr. Lockwood, and more importantly, Ellen Dean, the faithful housekeeper. At the beginning of the book, Mr. Lockwood had just arrived at Thrushcross Grange as a tenant. He went to see Mr. Heathcliff, the man he was renting the house from. When he arrives at Wuthering Heights, he meets a young lady the he assumes to be Heathcliff’s wife. However, Heathcliff tells him that she is not his wife, but his daughter-in-law. When he then meets a young man, he naturally assumes it to be Heathcliff’s son, but again Heathcliff tells him that he is wrong. Heathcliff makes it very clear that Mr. Lockwood is not welcome. However, Mr. Lockwood vows to visit Wuthering Heights a second time. The next day he does visit Wuthering Heights again and is snowed in over there. He spent the night in a room with three diaries in it - one labeled Catherine Earnshaw, one, Catherine Heathcliff and the last, Catherine Linton. That night he dreams he hears Catherine’s spirit at the window, and after hearing that, Heathcliff throws open the window and implores her to come in. Mr. Lockwood leaves early the next morning and catches cold. He is bedridden for the next few weeks and asks Ellen Dean to tell him what she knows about the people residing at Wuthering Heights. She agrees. The story really began with Mr. Earnshaw and his son, Hindley and daughter, Catherine. Mr. Earnshaw left town on business and brought back with him an orphan they named Heathcliff. Heathcliff soon turned out to be Mr. Earnshaw’s favorite and he and Catherine became great friends. Hindley despised him for that. When Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley returned from school married and took over as the master and treated Heathcliff awfully. His quick mind was dulled and he and Catherine became very rebellious. One day, they were over at Thrushcross Grange and saw Edgar and Isabella Linton. They saw Heathcliff and Catherine and thought they are burglars. Edgar sicced his dog on them and Catherine was injured. She stayed at the Grange for a few weeks and returned to Wuthering Heights a sophisticated lady with a furious temper and attitude. Hindley’s wife, Frances gave birth to a child named Hareton and then died shortly after.

Open University

Democratising higher education: the ignou initiatives Dr. Nayantara Padhi Assistant Professor, Centre for Corporate Education, Training & Consultancy, IGNOU, New Delhi Email:[email  protected] acin Starting with two courses and 4,000 students in 1985, IGNOU has reached the ladder of success being the world’s largest mega university, most diverse and inclusive institution offering over 3500 courses and catering to over 2. 5 million students.IGNOU is committed to be accessible to all by ensuring learner convenience through its unique ‘age no bar, place no bar and pace no bar’ approach. This approach of IGNOU falls in line with the objectives of democratizing higher education as the current initiatives of IGNOU indicate. During last few years IGNOU has been experimenting various innovative ideas and methods for meeting the above mentioned objectives and ultimately to cater to the diverse needs of people. This has resulted into successful launching of number of prog rammes, courses, medium and modules.To name a few, Community College establishment, programmes for physically challenged, providing second career opportunity to Indian Army: Gyan Deep, Convergence of distance education and higher education, starting of face to face programmes, use of 3G technology for imparting education , Flexilearning mode, satellite based communication etc. In this paper an attempt has been made to present an overview of the above mentioned innovations that has been carried out by IGNOU in order to align with the mission of democratising higher education. Also the current status of these innovations and the related issues are highlighted.DEMOCRATISING HIGHER EDUCATION: THE IGNOU INITIATIVES Vision Statement of IGNOU â€Å"Indira Gandhi National Open University, the National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning with international recognition and presence, shall provide seamless access to sustainable and learner-centric quality education, skill upgradati on and training to all by using innovative technologies and methodologies and ensuring convergence of existing systems for massive human resource required for promoting integrated national development and global understanding†. IntroductionThe Indira Gandhi National Open University was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985. Today the University is making all efforts to take higher education to the doorsteps of the hitherto unreached. The University imparts education and knowledge through various flexible means suited to the open and distance education mode, including Information and Communication Technologies, in order to fulfill the vision of democratizing higher education, it provides higher education and training to large sections of population, particularly the disadvantaged segments of the society.It promotes national integration and the integrated development of human personality; encourages, co-ordinates and assists open universities and distance learning systems across the country to improve standards in such systems. Learners from varied groups including rural and tribal areas, physically-challenged, jail inmates and rehabilitation houses, government and non-government sectors, parents and home-makers, the employers and the employed have been beneficiaries of the IGNOU programme.The University has put special focus on women, socially and economically disadvantaged groups, the north-east region, and other tribal and low literacy areas of the country. The University provides a multi-mode learning system comprising print, audio, video, radio, television, teleconferencing, interactive radio counseling, Internet-based learning and face-to-face counseling. IGNOU recently has also been involved in the National Skills Mission particularly in generating employment in line with the various schemes of the Central Government and State Government.The aim is to provide flexible knowledge and skill opportunities for the unemployed youth of India so as to meaningfully equip them with skills and opportunities. This approach of IGNOU falls in line with the objectives of democratizing higher education as the current initiatives of IGNOU indicate. During last few years IGNOU has been experimenting various innovative ideas and methods for meeting the above mentioned objectives and ultimately to cater to the diverse needs of people.This has resulted into successful launching of number of programmes, courses, medium and modules. To name a few, Community College establishment, growth, programmes for physically challenged, providing second career opportunity to Indian Army: Gyan Deep, Convergence of distance education and higher education, starting of face to face programmes, use of 3G technology for imparting education , Flexilearning mode, satellite based communication etc. All these noble initiatives of IGNOU are presented in the following paragraphs. A. Empowerment of Indian Soldiers- Gyan DeepGyan Deep is a bold initiative of Indira Gan dhi National Open University (IGNOU) to educationally empower the soldiers of the Indian army by granting of degree- a step aimed at providing the jawans with a second career option. Gyan Deep aims to equip the soldiers who join the force just after school. Nearly 50,000 Indian soldiers retire from the army every year after completion of 15 years in service. They constitute a young workforce but they lack any kind of professional skill to enter the job market after retiring from army.The soldiers would be receiving certification in knowledge and skills within the educational framework stipulated by IGNOU. With the imparting of formal degrees, the soldiers would be in a position to obtain a second career option and earn for themselves and their families reasonably well even after retirement. The certification and enhancement of educational qualifications would be within the broad framework of Community colleges, as set by IGNOU. Community colleges recognised by IGNOU will empower the already excellent training ystem within the Indian army and provide an opportunity for in service trainings to be benchmarked and credits issued for the Indian-Army soldiers to obtain a formal degree. In due course of time this innovative process will allow for lateral entry into the regular university system by allowing the candidates enrolled in Certificate, Diploma or Associate Degree courses to accumulate credits. Associate Degree of Community Colleges includes: †¢ Minimum two years/4 semesters of study †¢ Total of 64 credits 1st Semester: Basic Foundation Course (16credits) – compulsory subject – Basic Military Training – Certificate course. nd Semester: Applied Course in the chosen Programme Sector (16 credits)- compulsory subject –Advanced Military Training – Diploma (minimum one year). 3rd Semester: Army Class 2 Standards (16 credits) –Application oriented courses (8 credits) and elective courses (8 credits). 4th Semester: Army Class I standards (16 credits) – Elective courses, compulsory internship and Project work (16 credits). Degrees offered by IGNOU †¢ 64 credits obtained on successful completion of Associate Degree will become transferable towards the completion of 96 credits in total in order to obtain a degree. The 3rd year of 32 credits will be earned with IGNOU. †¢ Subsequent accumulation of credits and a third year of graduation with IGNOU can be taken within five years of completion of the Associate Degree. †¢ Degrees awarded may be BA, BCom, BSc. , BBA etc. , with varying specilisations. Towards achieving these goals, IGNOU will facilitate the registration of various Regimental Training Centers and Army Schools of Instruction/HRDCs of Indian Army as Community Colleges. If need be, IGNOU would also introduce new subjects in the curriculum.Upon completion of 96 credits, the degree awarded would be similar to the ones awarded to other students. B. Education for All: Co mmunity Colleges Community Colleges are an innovative but alternative system of education aiming to empower the individuals through appropriate skill development leading to gainful employment in collaboration with the local industry. Community Colleges aim at developing skills for self-employability of the marginalized and under-privileged sections of the society including urban-poor, rural poor and women.The methodology employed under the scheme of community colleges is the imparting of skill based training to the uneducated youth. Community Colleges generally have a two year curriculum leading to an Associate Degree by transferring to an undergraduate college or direct entry into an occupation or trade. Starting in July 2009, IGNOU commenced the scheme of Associate Degree Programmes through community colleges in various parts of India. The theme of community college embodies in itself the democratic goal of imparting livelihood based education to the disadvantaged section of the p opulation.Another major contribution of community colleges has been to expand access to post secondary studies for millions of students who would otherwise not have an opportunity to participate. Establishing one community college in each of the 600 districts in the country in the next five years as IGNOU Community College is one of the approaches of IGNOU in this direction. These colleges in different regions will be under the administration and academic control of the regional centres of IGNOU.Community Colleges will ensure vertical mobility for those who opt at a later stage for further education in the respective areas through credit transfer in the open university and distance education system in the country. Through IGNOU Community Colleges, the effort is to institutionalize the mechanism of providing skill based programmes in India till now undertaken by non-governmental organizations and training centres. The training in skills provided in these colleges will be recognized a nd formalized through various certifications. Functioning of Community Colleges . Eligibility for becoming community college An institution applying to IGNOU for registration as a Community College should be run by an educational agency/registered society/trust or corporate body rooted in community-based activites. Theymust be credible institutions with a minimum period of five years of proven service and be located in the community it seeks to serve. On receiving the application, IGNOU will scrutinize its feasibility based on the recommendations of an expert committee and the applicant will be informed of its eligibility.Prior to launching programmes, the agency should have done a need analysis of the local job requirements and opportunities and incorporate these findings into the curriculum. It should have active linkages with rural, agricultural,industrial and commercial organizations of the locality for empanelling part-time instructors, providing on job training to students and provide job placement to successful students. ii. Organisational Structure of Community CollegeThe college will constitute the following bodies to facilitate smooth functioning of its academic and administrative activities: Community College Board will be the Executive body of the college. The Board will manage the academic matters of the college relating to appointment of faculty, approval of programmes leading to award of Certificate/Diploma/Associate Degree, and regulate the finances of the college. Academic Committee will be the principal Academic body of the college responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, examination and linkages with the industry/community.The academic committee will: Make regulations regarding admission of students;Recommend to the Community College Board proposals for institution of new programmes of study;Advise the Community College Board on suggestions pertaining to academic affairs made by it;Prepare syllabi for various programmes; and Coordinate the industry/community linkages. Examination Committee will be responsible for the smooth conduct of internal assessments, mid-term examination and term-end examinations.It will be the custodian of processes related to evaluation such as question paper setting, answer script evaluation, moderation, timely announcement of results and handling of examination related grievances. Programme Structure †¢ Associate Degree Programmes are offered both full-time or part-time. †¢ Mode of delivery : face-to-face and Blended †¢ Mandatory apprenticeship. †¢ First year Foundation courses 16 credits per semester. Application oriented courses 16 credits per semester. †¢ Second year-Electives of 8 credits; Application oriented-8 credits, Internship and Project work-16 credits.Programmes under Community Collges: The following academic programmes leading to an Associate Degree may be considered: †¢ AA (Associate Arts) †¢ AS(Associate Science) †¢ AC S (Associate of Computer Science) †¢ AC(Associate of Commerce) †¢ ABA (Associate of Business Administration) †¢ AAT (Associate of Arts in Teaching) Academic Framework of Community Colleges Since Associate Degree is a new academic qualification in India, it is essential to have a common set of descriptors for the programme which articulate entry requirements, curriculum content, teacher qualifications and training and exit avenues. Entry Requirements Students who have completed School final are eligible for direct entry into the Associate Degree Programme. †¢ Alternatively students who have completed 10th standard may enroll in the Bachelor’s Preparatory Progrmmes and on completion of first year may transfer into the Associate Degree Programme. †¢ Non 10+2 (Eighteen years age) will have to complete BPP and Associate Degree Programme from Community college for lateral entry to third year of the Degree Programmme. Curriculum Design †¢ The curriculum of the Associate Degree Programme should include a substantial amount of generic skills with a major portion to be completed in the first year. First Year Courses (all foundation courses, 16 credits), Second Year (application oriented courses, 16 credits) and some of the basic electives in the respective subject of study worth of 32 credits to be completed in the first two years of Associate Degree Programme of the community college. The equivalence of the courses will be recommended by the Committee appointed. †¢ A number of existing courses of IGNOU may be appropriately combined for an Associate Degree. Challenges of Community Colleges †¢ Academic pathways- transfer of students to third year in IGNOU and other universities. Quality assurance – recruitment of faculty, standards in industry – based curriculum development. †¢ Avenues for technical and vocational teacher and trainer-training. †¢ Business/industry linkages including training contracts . †¢ Programmes to be rooted in communities – regional and local needs. C. Flexi Learn: Access to Quality Higher Education e-GyanKosh (www. egyankosh. ac. in), a repository of learning resources, is an initiative that was taken up by IGNOU in October, 2005 to store, index, preserve, distribute and share the digital learning resources developed by the IGNOU.Emerging as one of the world’s largest educational resource repositories, it includes digitized and uploaded storage of over 95% of the IGNOU’s self-instructional print material. With help of special channels like YouTube, IGNOU is providing with video programmes, through the metadata link in the repository. At present about 40,000 self-instructional print materials and over a 1,600 videos are available in the repository. After its public launch in June 9, 2008, the site already had received around 700,000 hits with an average of 1,000 visits per day from all over the world.At present, there are more than 60,000 active registered users of the repository. The facilities of e-GyanKosh are now being extended with a Flexi Learn platform to offer ‘open courses’ free of cost with course wise registration and assessment. IGNOU’s Flexi Learn platform will facilitate informed learning wherein anyone can register and explore courses free of cost to gain knowledge and skill in a particular area of interest. Certification for courses will be based on payment of the requisite fees. The Flexi Learn platform will provide an alternative way of awarding degrees and diplomas.The Flexi Learn platform offers courses in a complete open and flexible environment with following features. – Any visitor to the Flexi Learn site has the option to register for any particular course or a full length academic programme. A modular approach is followed wherein a registered learner can combine course credits to obtain a diploma or degree of their own choice. – The platform provides self learning environment with a list of Academic Advisors/Course Guides to act as mentors. The Personal Learning Environment (PLE) will have interactive tools like Discussion Board , Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting,RSS feeds, etc. Each course has option for both online assessment as well as an offline one as per the choice of the learner wherein a learner can take their exams ‘on demand’. The final exam will be in a proctored environment. The evaluation will be at three levels – diagnostic (where prior knowledge testing is required), formative and summative and will be designed by the faculty based courses requirements. Various of evaluation may be adopted viz. objective, short essay type, term paper, course projects, practical activities etc. A complete tracking mechanism is integrated in the platform through the e-portfolios of individual learners. The e-portfolio will keep a formal record of all formal and informal studies carried out by the registered learner. Cert ification of the course will be based on stipulated time spent on a course (for a 4 credit a minimum at 45 days) and completion of all learning activities identified by the faculty. The Flexi Learn platform provides an opportunity for prospective learners to sample a course before enrolling and also help them in choosing courses and programmes of study.Course wise registration facilitates offering topic specific continuing education progammes especially in skill based and professional areas. A flexible framework is provided through this model for Schools of Studies to identify and combine different courses already available, for offering new tailor-made and need based programmes. In the long run this will help in achieving IGNOU’s objective of democratizing higher education by taking it to the doorsteps of the learners and providing access to high quality education to all those who seek it.D. Convergence Scheme: Merger of ODL and Conventional Higher Education System The objec tive of the Scheme is to achieve the targets setout in the Eleventh Plan Document for Higher Education, and focusing on access and equity issues. Inclusion as a concept goes beyond just providing distance learning access. It takes into account the need to interface with the conventional system, use innovative technologies and to optimize the access to physical facilities, intellectual and knowledge resources in institutions to achieve its goals.The Scheme, jointly conceived by University Grants Commission (UGC) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Distance Education Council and AICTE under the guidance of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, aims to focus on enhancing the quality and quantity of education delivery in the context of social dimensions of the country, with a thrust on capacity building and strengthening of the conventional university and collegiate education system. The success of the Scheme, announced in 2007, is not surprising. Many of the exis ting IGNOU courses have also found new takers with the announcement of the Scheme.Given a target of achieving 15% gross enrollment in higher education by 2015, the scheme aims to move it from the current enrollment ratio of 11% in the 16-23 age group. Under this Scheme, a student can be enrolled for obtaining a regular degree while pursuing another complementary course. Thus, a student can aim to get two degrees at the same time. Another programme, called Bachelor’s Preparatory Programme (BPP) enables the students who have not been able to get Pre-University/Senior Secondary education to become eligible for applying for bachelor’s degree courses.This is a boon to those who were not able to complete their schooling or pre-university courses. This is a six-month intensive training programme. While IGNOU has over 2500 Learner Support Centres by different names depending on the specific role they play such as Regular Study Centres, Programme Study Centres, Special Study Ce ntres, Recognised Study Centres etc. , the Scheme on Convergence has helped in developing synergies with well endowed colleges. This has resulted in qualified faculty and state of art infrastructure being made available to students, in addition to providing additional mentoring on a flexi time basis.In short, technology in Education, when applied creatively enhances the potential to address both access and inclusion issues, especially in India. E. 3G and Mobile Technology usage for Reaching the Unreached The significance of mobile technology is evident from the fact that increasing number of people have started using mobile devices, carrying mobiles with them all the time. Hence, any service provided to the students through mobile devices enables quick connectivity as compared to any other technology such as PC based internet technologies.IGNOU launched the SMS Alerts service on November 18th 2008. Since then, SMS Alerts Service is being used by various constituents of IGNOU includi ng its Regional Centres to communicate information to its students. Following are some of the applications of 3G technology to ODL system: †¢ ODL institutions can develop high bandwidth applications that can be used by prospective students to apply for admission using their 3G enabled mobile devices. †¢ ODL institutions can develop 3G enabled student response systems.These response systems can respond in real time with information such as Study Centre allocation etc. †¢ Such 3G enabled student response systems can aid in providing responses to queries of students in real time. †¢ Most of ODL institutions send course material to their students by post as well as host material on the web for students to download. It is difficult for students to download course material which occupies large memory due to poor Internet connections. 3G technology enables faster downloads of course material to the student’s mobile devices.They can download course material wherev er they are, anytime. This ensures that the course material is available to every learner who is having a 3G enabled mobile device. F. Education through Digitally Enabled learning The National Mission of Education through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was launched recently with the broad objective of ensuring connectivity of the learners to the ‘World of Knowledge’ in cyberspace and to make them ‘Netizens’ in order to enhance their self-learning skills and develop their capabilities for on-line problems solving†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.The efforts of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) would be geared towards creating an open house for knowledge. The attempt is to harness a large number of knowledge resources in the manner that adds value to them by making them more personalized and useful to the lifelong learner/student. The effort would also involve content packaging and integration to suit specific needs of the students at various levels or with different kinds of talent/mental prowess. A budget allocation of Rs. 02 crores has been made in 2008-09 for the National Mission on Education through ICT. For bridging the digital divide and empowering teachers/learners to harness information and communication technologies for their empowerment through knowledge, the need of the hour is to provide digital literacy to teaching learning community in Higher Education. The aim has to be to ensure that this community should be able to operate the computer or other devices and connect to the knowledge network.It should be for the teacher/learner to identify the content from its suitable pictorial representation and to play the audio-visual content to derive knowledge from the relevant module of knowledge. Obviously, this digital literacy cannot be spread through the computer networks since it aims to empower the teacher/learner to use the network. Hence, digital literacy for teacher empowerment will have to be imparted through oth er means relying heavily on audio-visual material, non-governmental organizations, change agents and institutions established for them, and mass contact programmes.Provision of e-Books and e-Journals Free to the Learners Overall education has two parts, formal and informal. Both forms of education require text books, reading material, journals and magazines and access to them can be provided through digital libraries which would substitute comprehensive brick-and-mortar libraries. Since everything in the library would be available on line with concurrent access to multiple sites for a large number of students, good bandwidth around the year would be the key.Support for Generation of e-Content and Digitization and Indexing of Existing e-Content It shall be the endeavour of the Mission to continuously work for enriching the repository of e-contents of the nation. For the purpose it shall encourage the academicians, scholars and institutions to contribute to the world of knowledge in c yber space by creating e-knowledge content. The Mission shall also evolve a mechanism to rate the quality of the e-content generated before admitting it to the national repository. Evaluation of e-ContentBenchmarking learning content would ensure quality which is central to the philosophy of the Mission. As content generation shall take place at various places, by different sets of experts, the development of quality assurance procedures and testing mechanisms is essential. These tools shall be deployed on the Mission website so that anybody developing content can routinely use these to get proper feedback. The Mission shall also attempt to provide guidance to them in order to facilitate their search for quality material.Finance Assistance to Institutions of Higher Learning for Procurement of Hardware/Replacement of Obsolete Hardware In order to accomplish its major objective of utilizing latest technologies to make higher education easily accessible, the Mission shall provide finan cial assistance to all the institutions of higher learning for the procurement of hardware or replacement of the obsolete hardware essential for accessing to the world of knowledge in cyber space. National Testing ServiceThe Mission shall provide financial and technical support to a designated Government agency for establishment of a National Testing Service (NTS). The Mission shall be free to move for the establishment of a separate body to act as a National Testing Service in order to fulfill its objective of certifying the competence and skills acquired by the individual through formal or non-formal means of education and / or training in different disciplines/professions.This shall help them in gaining employment as also to continue their higher studies/training. Content Generation The National Programme of Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) was started by the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. A good number of quality material on v arious courses has been created by these premier institutions of the country. E-Contents are being continuously generated by the reputed faculty members of the premier institutions under NPTEL programmes.This programmes has been subsumed with the Mission to give it a new dimension. The Mission hopes that the e-contents generated under this programme shall be of great use for the engineering students enrolled in engineering colleges across the country. Standardisation and Quality Assurance of Contents & Certification /Automation of Certification The main objective here would be to evolve Quality Assurance (QA) Process for E-learning Content and to create an environment for Quality Audit of Content.The mission seeks to promote R&D in specific important areas of content creation and management for enriching the QA process and also promote multi-institutional involvement for definition of quality and dissemination of Quality awareness. Developing Suitable Pedagogical Methods for Various Classes and Intellectual Calibers and Research in e-learning Web enabled learning modules suffer from the absence of teacher and peer interaction/pressure. Many a times, the content developers develop the modules keeping in mind their own clientele of students or their own impressions of the student’s caliber, receptivity, etc.This may result in a â€Å"one shoe fit all† syndrome. It is well known that any given class would have very bright students, mediocre students and weak students. Even among them, the grasping power of concepts would vary based on their surroundings and the perceptions that the students have derived over a period of time. The most efficient pedagogical method would also depend on the extent of knowledge that the students has in that area. Development of Language Converter Tool KitThe focus of the National Mission on Education through ICT would be on content for all classes starting from nursery level to research level. Presently, the content bei ng developed for Sakshat under this Mission is in English. English content also makes it possible to tap into the convenient, open access educational resources available on the Internet, be they in text, audio, visual, simulation, animation, question answer or in any other form. This abundant resource, however, cannot be tapped in regional languages because of IPR restrictions.Hence, efforts will be made to convert knowledge modules into various regional languages and also to subsequently launch a movement for creating the above types of content in the regional languages. Development and Realization of Virtual Reality Laboratories and Supporting Facilities for e-learning The Mission shall work for providing all the institutions of higher learning, in the country, with access devices and connectivity through high speed broadband and VPN etc. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 institutions of higher learning shall reap this benefit.It shall be the endeavour of the Mission to en sure that the access devices are available with maximum number of learners in the country to enable them to become ‘Netizens’. To achieve this objective it shall support development of low cost and low power consuming devices through their field trials. The Central Government would also bear 75% of the cost of the connectivity having bandwidth up to 10-25 Mbps per college or per department of a University if remaining cost is borne by State Government or college/institution concerned.Development of Certification & Testing Modules for Virtual Technological Universities & Creation of VTU, Multi Media Research and International Programmes The proposed Virtual Technical University (VTU) shall serve as a nodal agency for imparting training to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as to the newly recruited teachers in the fields of Science, Technology, Management, Architecture, Pharmacy and other applied areas. The University will provide flexible, credit based cour ses to all registered participants using modern technology. VTU will help them in updating their knowledge and advancing their career objectives.G. Inclusive Growth for the Disadvantaged Group IGNOU with its diverse, low-cost programmes and a wide network has succeeded in attracting a significant group of learners from amongst the disadvantaged. However, a considerable cross-section of people still remains outside its reach. The University is mandated to reach them. The University has taken up a number of new initiatives mainly focused on empowering women, persons of the SC/ST category and the differently abled population of the country. Women’s Empowerment The University has been making conscious efforts to reach out to women, especially those from the remote and rural areas.Some of the initiatives in this direction are: a) Setting up the School of Gender and Development Studies in 2007: One focus are of study of this School is â€Å"Women‘s Studies†, which anal yses the status of women in society with the objective of strengthening individual and institutional efforts that enable women’s empowerment. The School is offering the following pertinent programmers: – Certificate in Empowering Women Through Self-Help Groups (under Women’s Empowerment Project sponsored by Department of Women and Child Development, MHRD, GOI). Certificate in Women’s Empowerment and Development (CWED). – Diploma in Women’s Empowerment and Development (DWED) – Ph. D in Women’s Studies. b) Establishing 26 women-specific study centres across the country. c) Setting up a Committee for Prevention of Sexual Harassment against Women (CPSHW). This committee oversees all work related to complaints of sexual harassment at IGNOU, besides carrying out awareness-raising workshops, seminars and other related activities.During the year 2008-09, the CPSHW prepared a document on the Policy & Procedures for the Prevention, Prohi bition, and Punishment of Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace, as per the Supreme Court guidelines. The document has been submitted to the University authorities for adoption in the form of an ordinance. SC/ST Empowerment The University has made extensive efforts regarding the empowerment of persons in the SC and ST categories. Some of the measures taken in this direction are: – SC/ST Cell: this cell looks after all issues pertaining to the grievances of SC/ST employees. Increased Access to ST Population: IGNOU has tried to increase its reach to the tribal population of Madhya Pradesh through a new scheme of mobile study centres, which has been found to be successful. – EEBB Centres: To provide access to people in the Economically and Educationally Backward Blocks (EEBB), identified by the Sachar Committee, efforts have been initiated to establish Special Centres in these blocks, irrespective of whether such centres fulfill the conditions normally expected of I GNOU study centres.Through these centres, aspiring learners of these blocks are given opportunities to pursue a variety of vocational programmes, besides BPP and bachelor degree programmes. – EDNERU: Initiative for North East Trbal population education and research. Empowerment of the Differently Abled A national Task Force has been constituted to make the IGNOU premises and its programes completely accessible to people with disabilities across the country. The access audit of the IGNOU campus at the headquarters was conducted on 22-23 October, 2008.In order to develop human resources in various areas related to disability for creating a disabled-friendly society as also promoting interdisciplinary study of disability with the purpose of removing barriers to empowerment of the persons with disabilities, the National Centre for Disability Studies (NCDS) was established in 2006. NCDS has launched a Post-graduate Diploma in Disability Management for Medical Practitioners, in col laboration with the Rehabilitation Council of India. The Pprogramme equips the medical practitioners with the skills and knowledge to effectively deal with persons with disabilities.H. Usage of Satellite The University endeavors constantly to make appropriate use of new technological solutions to achieve its mission of seamless education, cost-efficiency and borderless access to quality education. The University has enhance, in the recent past, its technological capabilities in the production and transmission of audio and video programmes through radio and television as well as the latest Web-enabled online services offered through the internet to learners spread across the globe.Gyan Darshan Gyan Darshan (GD) is a digital bouquet of four channels – GD-1, GD-2, GD-3, and GD-4. These channels beam programmes produced by IGNOU, UGC, NCERT, CIET, NITTTRs, IITs, DST and different ministries of the government of India. The transmission of GD channels is almost completely automated through the installation of the video server, GD-1 is a 24-hour channel which airs enrichment programmes produced by various government and educational organizations, and IGNOU curriculum-based programmes.GD-2 is the Interactive Distance Education Channel, dedicated entirely to distance education. Regular teleconference sessions and induction meetings are held through this channel for learners and trainees of the open university system and other apex bodies. During the year 2008-09,Gyan Darsha-1 and 2 have witnessed a tremendous growth in reach, since both channels were placed on the following DTH platforms – DD Direct Plus, Dish TV, TataSky, Sun TV, Big TV and AirTel. It was also available in the IPTV network for which an MOU with M/s Goldstone was signed.Further, GD-1has been declared a ‘must carry’ channel for all IPTV service providers and has been made available in many cities through the BSNL network. GD-1 and GD-2 are also being webcast through IGNOU†™s website . Test transmission of the Science Channel on GD-2 started, with effect from 23rd December, 2008 to broadcast programmes made by IGNOU,CEC, Vigyan Parsar, etc. Gd-3, â€Å"Eklavya†, was inaugurated on 26th Jan. 2003. It is a 24-hour channel dedicated to technical education and runs programmes generated at variousIITs, for students pursuing degrees n different disciplines in the area of engineering and technology. The signals are sent through microwave links, from where they are uplinked to the satellite. The nodal offer for this is at IIT, Delhi. GD-4, â€Å"Vyas Channel†, launched in Jan. 2004, is a 24-hour channel catering to the needs of students pursuing higher education under the university and college system in the country. The programmes are coordinated by the Consortium of Education Communication (CEC).The Vyas Channel has now become available on the DTH platform as well. Gyan Vani Gyan Vani, a ‘radio cooperative’ funded by the MHRD, i s the only FM Radio channel in the country devoted exclusively to education. Gyan Vani programmes include information relevant to students of pre-primary to post-graduate classes, it also carriers enrichment programmes for generating environmental awareness, awareness on female empowerment, legal literacy, capabilities in professional and science education. Each Gyan Vani has a range of about 60 kms.At present there are 26 GyanVani FM Stations functioning across the country at Allahabad, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Coimbatore, New Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Kolkatta, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Patna, Panaji, Raipur, Rajkot, Shillong, Varanasi and Viskhapatnam. Eleven new stations are on the anvil. Gyan Vani has made significant strides in recent years with all the 26 stations producing programmes. The radio programmes are contributed by NCERT, NIOS, IGNOU, NGOs and various State Government Departments.Gyan Vani has crea ted a Programme Exchange Unit and all the radio stations have access to the best productions of each station. Developmental and educational programmes from broadcasting organizations of countries such as Australia, Canada and Germany are also being aired on Gyan Vani stations. Gyan Vani, Delhi, is also webcast using IGNOU’s in-house facility. Interactive Radio Counseling (IRC) IGNOU runs at least one hour of live phone-in counseling programmes every week in the regional languages through the various Gyan Vani stations.The studio invites experts to clarify learners queries put across to them for their homes via the telephone. Both broadcast and non-broadcast modes of delivery were adopted by the University and the audio/video programmes produced at the University’s Electronic Media PrdocutionCentre (EMPC) were broadcast/telecast over Gyan Darshan, Gyan Vani, EduSat, AIR/Doordarshan Channels. In order to infuse interactivity in open and distance learning, one-way video a nd two way audio teleconferencing facilities are offered through GD-2.Important nation-wide programmes for IGNOU learners, lectures by eminent experts/dignitaries, discussions with RC staff, induction for new learners and convocation for graduating learners were conducted live through teleconferencing mode. Besides this, telecounselling and communication sessions were conducted for select application- oriented programmes such as nursing, information technology, MBA etc, in which the students got ample opportunities to interact with the faculty.The teleconferencing facility was also used by other institutions, such as the DAV College Management Committee (DAVCMC), National Board of Examination (NBE), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), and the Department of Power, amongst others. EDUSAT is the first Indian satellite designed and developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) exclusively for serving the educational sector. It is mainly intended to meet the dema nd for an interactive satellite-based distance education system for the country.It is a collaborative project of the MHRD, ISRO, Department of Space and IGNOU. The satellite has six Ku-Band transponders and six Ext. C-Band transponders. One beam or Ext. C-Band covers the entire country, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It reflects India’s commitment to use space technology for national development, especially for development of human resources in remote and rural locations. The University has established 134 interactive terminals across the country with a two-way interactive facility. An EduSat Mini Hub has been shifted from ISRO, Ahmedabad, to EMPC.ISRO has also provided a new Learning Management System (LMS) for the network. A recent study was conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi, aimed at assessing the impact, effectiveness and sustainability of interactive media technologies being utilized in the delivery system of IGNOU. The study included Gyan Vani, Edust-based teleconferencing, the IGNOU slot on the national channel, Doordarshan, the web platform and internet facilities. The broad findings of the study as stated in the final report submitted, are as under:IGNOU Hour on Gyan Vani Forty percent of students listen to the IGNOU Hour programmes broadcast on Gyan Vani. Fourteen percent students listen to the IGNOU Hour programmes on a regular basis. Forty one percent students tune in sometimes and the rest do not listen to programmes broadcast on Gyan Vani . IGNOU Programmes on Doordarshan Forty seven percent of students watch IGNOU Programmes telecast on Doordarshan channel 1. Ninety three percent students who watch IGNOU programmes on Doordarshan’s main channel are comfortable with the language of telecast.Sixty percent students who watch the IGNOU slot on Doordarshan rated the content quality of programmes telecast as good. More than seven out of ten students said the programmes telecast on the IG NOU slot on Doordarshan are useful in the learning process. Sixty percent students who watch programmes telecast on Doordarshan felt it helped them in understanding their progrmme topics better. The awareness of students about IGNOU programmes on Doordarshan DTH is quite high as more than seven out of ten students were aware about it. Fourteen percent students of IGNOU were found to have Doordarshan DTH in their homes.Conclusion As India strives to become a knowledge society, IGNOU ensures that no section gets left behind, that’s where attaining the objective of democratizing higher education. From the above discussion, it is worth mentioning that IGNOU’s contribution in democratising higher education is commendable. The innovations of IGNOU to impart education anybody, anywhere anytime using all channels is visible from the initiatives and the current status. With the growing demand of skilled workforce across the globe, IGNOU is taking all steps towards this.Right to Education is very much evident from the above mentioned initiatives. To conclude IGNOU’ s initiatives in democratising higher education ,a dynamic and innovative university with a passion to educate all and reaching the unreached, IGNOU has become the People’s University†¦the university of a billion plus. References Annual Report 2008-2009, IGNOU. IGNOU, Celebrating 25th Year of Success in Open & Distance Learning 2009-2010, Vol. 1, Issue1. IGNOU, Education Without Barriers. IGNOU, Profile 2010. IGNOU, IGNOU Community Colleges. IGNOU, Flexi Learn. IGNOU, Gyan Deep. IGNOU, Open Letter. www. ignou. ac. in